Spanish Formula 1 Grand Prix 2015: Results, Times for Practice and Qualifying

Lewis Hamilton will be bidding to continue his impressive start to the Formula One season when he chases a repeat win in the Spanish Grand Prix.

The reigning world champion has won three of the opening four GPs this season, and he will be hoping for another dominant showing at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona. In 2014, Hamilton started from pole position before claiming the race victory by beating his Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg.

A three-week break since the last GP in Bahrain, where Hamilton beat Kimi Raikkonen by just over three seconds, has allowed teams to make improvements to their cars, and it will be fascinating to see if any of them can close the gap on Mercedes.

Read on for all the latest updates at the 2015 Spanish Grand Prix

Qualifying: Rosberg Beats Hamilton to Pole

Clive Mason/Getty Images

World championship rivals Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg split the first two races in the qualifying phase of the 2015 Spanish F1 Grand Prix. They entered the decisive third qualifying race with defending champion Hamilton aiming to earn pole position for a fifth consecutive race.

But it was Rosberg who took pole.

While the now customary battle between Mercedes' top drivers naturally dominated proceedings, the first two qualifiers saw some big names fall. Chief among them was McLaren. Both Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso failed to make the cut.

Afterwards, Button was clearly still stung by the disappointment. He lamented the technical changes his team had made to their cars, per BBC Sport's Gary Rose: "We put new brakes on for qualifying, I don't know what is going on with them but I had really big issues with the car all over the place."

Yet despite Button's complaints, McLaren are still considered to have made progress. BBC Sports' Andrew Benson believes just participating in the second qualifier is an endorsement of the team's new Honda engines.

In the end, only 0.267 seconds separated Rosberg from Hamilton. That minimal difference could prove significant in Barcelona. Sky Sports' Mike Wise stated Rosberg really needs any advantage he can get over the driver he trails by 33 points on the championship leaderboard.

But his real boost can only come from winning the race proper.

Here are the full results from qualifying, per Formula1.com:

Position	Name	Team	Q3	Laps
1	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1:24.681	18
2	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:24.948	17
3	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1:25.458	15
4	Valtteri Bottas	Williams-Mercedes	1:25.694	16
5	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	1:26.136	17
6	Max Verstappen	Toro Rosso	1:26.249	20
7	Kimi Raikkonen	Ferrari	1:26.414	16
8	Daniil Kvyat	Red Bull	1:26.629	16
9	Felipe Massa	Williams-Mercedes	1:26.757	16
10	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull	1:26.770	16
11	Romain Grosjean	Lotus	1:27.375	13
12	Pastor Maldonado	Lotus	1:27.450	13
13	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	1:27.760	11
14	Jenson Button	McLaren	1:27.854	12
15	Felipe Nasr	Sauber	1:28.005	14
16	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	1:28.112	6
17	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	1:28.365	6
18	Sergio Perez	Force India	1:28.442	7
19	Will Stevens	Manor	1:31.200	6
20	Roberto Merhi	Manor	1:32.038	4

P3: Rosberg Edges Field After Hamilton Goes for a Spin

Andres Kudacki/Associated Press

Nico Rosberg topped the leaderboard at the end of the third practice session at the 2015 Spanish F1 Grand Prix. The Mercedes driver took a narrow advantage over Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel and his own teammate, Lewis Hamilton.

The latter saw his race disrupted when he was sent spinning on the third lap. One of the notoriously tough curves of the track got the better of the world champion.

Hamilton soon recovered and finished just three tenths of a second behind Rosberg, according to Sky Sports' Pete Gill. As for Vettel, his performance should help Ferrari bridge the gap to Mercedes after the team was left trailing during the opening two practice sessions.

BBC Sports' Andrew Benson believes that Vettel will be content just to separate Rosberg and Hamilton in the race proper. The German's close proximity on the world title leaderboard means he'll be content simply with not losing pace.

The closely fought three-way tussle at the top sets up an intriguing set of qualifying races. Competition for pole position may be even more intense than usual considering the importance securing that place has on this track.

BBC Sports' Gary Rose emphasised its significance: "Historically, securing pole is vital at the Spanish Grand Prix, with eight of the last 10 pole sitters having gone on to take victory."

With so little to separate usual pace-setters Hamilton, Rosberg and Vettel, it's tough to give the early edge to any member of the trio. But one of these three drivers is sure to claim the vital spot ahead of the actual race.

Here are the full results from Spain, via Formula1.com:

Position	Name	Team	Best Time	Laps
1	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1:26.021	19
2	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1:26.177	14
3	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:26.222	10
4	Valtteri Bottas	Williams-Mercedes	1:26.682	19
5	Kimi Raikkonen	Ferrari	1:26.944	14
6	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing Renault	1:27.048	19
7	Felipe Massa	Williams-Mercedes	1:27.109	19
8	Max Verstappen	Toro Rosso	1:27.132	18
9	Daniil Kvyat	Red Bull	1:27.313	7
10	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	1:27.809	17
11	Jenson Button	McLaren	1:27.938	17
12	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	1:28.082	13
13	Felipe Nasr	Sauber	1:28.096	23
14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	1:28.304	17
15	Romain Grosjean	Lotus	1:28.578	17
16	Pastor Maldonado	Lotus	1:28.618	18
17	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	1:28.788	20
18	Sergio Perez	Force India	1:28.996	14
19	Will Stevens	Manor	1:31.125	16
20	Roberto Merhi	Manor	1:31.749	17

P2: Hamilton Back on Top in Practice

Dan Istitene/Getty Images

Lewis Hamilton was fastest in practice two for the Spanish GP

Lewis Hamilton set the fastest time in the second practice session for the Spanish Grand Prix as Sebastian Vettel proved to be his closest rival.

Hamilton’s Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg had been quickest in practice one, but the reigning world champion was the only driver to lap under one minute, 27 seconds in the afternoon as he went slightly faster than he had earlier in the day.

Vettel briefly set the fastest time as he improved by over half a second on his best time in the first practice, while Rosberg was only third-quickest and Kimi Raikkonen was fourth.

There was a positive showing for the McLaren team as they improved markedly on their times from practice one. Jenson Button finished in seventh position after setting a best time nearly a second-and-a-half quicker, while Fernando Alonso climbed up to 11th place.

There was early drama in the session when Romain Grosjean, who had sat out the morning’s practice, saw the back of his Lotus come flying off. Two fasteners on the top of the bodywork were blamed, and he later returned to the track with tape holding it together.

That incident saw the red flag come out and hold up the session for a few minutes, while the yellow flag came out late on after Will Stevens ran off the track.

Daniel Ricciardo endured another frustrating session after the engine in his Red Bull required changing. He eventually got out on the track late in the session to post a time that had him in 13th position.

Hamilton had a brief break in the pits when his seat overheated again, but provided he encounters no such issues in qualifying, he is going to be hard to beat to pole.

Here are the full results from the second practice in Spain, courtesy of Formula1.com

P	Name	Team	Best Time	Laps
1	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:26.852	26
2	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1:27.260	37
3	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1:27.616	35
4	Kimi Raikkonen	Ferrari	1:27.780	36
5	Daniil Kvyat	Red Bull	1:27.943	25
6	Max Verstappen	Toro Rosso	1:28.017	32
7	Jenson Button	McLaren	1:28.494	31
8	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	1:28.525	39
9	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	1:28.674	31
10	Felipe Massa	Williams	1:28.712	36
11	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	1:28.723	28
12	Romain Grosjean	Lotus	1:29.086	14
13	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull	1:29.098	4
14	Pastor Maldonado	Lotus	1:29.217	34
15	Felipe Nasr	Sauber	1:29.333	37
16	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	1:29.361	34
17	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	1:29.601	38
18	Sergio Perez	Force India	1:29.707	35
19	Will Stevens	Marussia	1:31.929	30
20	Roberto Merhi	Marussia	1:32.751	23

P1: Rosberg Edges out Hamilton

Paul Gilham/Getty Images

Nico Rosberg: Quickest in first practice for the Spanish GP

Nico Rosberg narrowly edged out Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton to post the fastest time in first practice for the Spanish GP.

The lead changed hands several times during the session, with Hamilton regularly seeing his time topped by Rosberg. By the end of the session, Rosberg was just 0.07 seconds quicker than Hamilton.

Ferrari drivers Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen were third and fourth-fastest, around a second slower than Rosberg, while the Renault duo Carlos Sainz and Max Verstappen impressed in fifth and sixth.

Rosberg did suffer a couple of lapses during the practice session. In the early stages, he ran deep into a hairpin and then he was later placed under investigation by the stewards after missing the bollard at pit entry after a late decision to come off the track.

In terms of incident, there were no notable moments as temperatures rose and a cross-wind blew around the track. Sauber’s reserve driver Raffaele Marciello ran wide of the track and Force India’s Sergio Perez also ran off into the gravel at one stage.

Susie Wolff, filling in for Valtteri Bottas in the Williams, initially made a slow start to practice before climbing up the standings to finish in 14th, ahead of the McLaren duo of Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button.

Lotus’ reserve driver Jolyon Palmer started strongly and continued to improve his times through the session, with his place of 13th reflecting that.

It was a frustrating session for Daniel Ricciardo as the Red Bull driver spent much of the session in the garage while the mechanics inspected his car. However, he eventually got out on track in the final 10 minutes of the session to post the ninth-fastest time. Ricciardo's team-mate Daniil Kyvat only managed seven laps, but he was still the seventh-fastest.

Here are the full results from first practice in Spain, courtesy of Formula1.com

P	Name	Team	Best Time	Laps
1	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1:26.828	28
2	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:26.898	27
3	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1:27.806	21
4	Kimi Raikkonen	Ferrari	1:27.832	16
5	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	1:28.132	27
6	Max Verstappen	Toro Rosso	1:28.529	23
7	Daniil Kvyat	Red Bull	1:28.785	7
8	Felipe Massa	Williams	1:28.831	21
9	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull	1:29.075	9
10	Felipe Nasr	Sauber	1:29.140	14
11	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	1:29.409	20
12	Raffaele Marciello	Sauber	1:29.630	15
13	Jolyon Palmer	Lotus	1:29.676	21
14	Susie Wolff	Williams	1:29.708	22
15	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	1:29.813	22
16	Jenson Button	McLaren	1:29.817	22
17	Sergio Perez	Force India	1:30.096	19
18	Pastor Maldonado	Lotus	1:30.110	7
19	Will Stevens	Marussia	1:32.471	22
20	Roberto Merhi	Marussia	1:32.647	20